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Kestra T'Lara
|Image=Kestra.jpg |Fullname= |Aliases= |Species=Vulcan / Betazoid Hybrid |Birth= |Base=''U.S.S. Enterprise-F'' |Gender=Female |Height= |Weight= |Eyes= |Hair=Red |Marital=Single |Occupation=Chief Communications Officer, U.S.S. Enterprise-F |Rank=Lieutenant Jr Grade, Starfleet |FirstApp=S00E01 |Spotlights=S01E05, S02E07, S03E06, S04E08}} Lieutenant Kestra T'Lara is the Chief Communications Officer of the U. S. S. Enterprise. She is of mixed parentage, being from both Vulcan and Betazoid bloodlines. History Kestra was born as the result of an unusual (and brief) relationship between a young Vulcan waiter and an adventurous middle aged female Betazoid diplomat. Wishing to avoid a scandal, Kestra's mother sent the new-born baby to live on Vulcan with her father, visiting whenever her duties back home allowed. Kestra later gained a place at the prestigious Vulcan Science Academy, where she excelled in history and language based subjects. Kestra's childhood and adolescence were awkward due to her decidedly un-Vulcan tendencies towards outbursts of emotion and the obvious differences in her physical appearance. Classmates would often point out these so-called flaws in an attempt to goad her into crying or getting angry. As a result, Kestra does not tend to enjoy the company of other Vulcans and prefers to spend time with other species. After graduating with top marks (sharing the Veledictorian title with her arch-nemsis Sakonna) Kestra attended Star Fleet Academy where she found that she was able to make friends more easily. Her spotless academic record had only one blemish, in the form of a short suspension following an ill-fated game of Parrises Squares, where she was also stripped of her Captaincy and banned from the sport for 5 years. She then went on to attain PhD's in both Communications and Anthropology before being assigned to the Enterprise almost straight afterwards. Appearance Kestra is in her late 30's, which is considered fairly young by Vulcan standards. When she first appeared, she wore her ginger hair in the traditional Vulcan bowl cut, but has since grown it out and begun to experiment with different styles. She is relatively slight in build and can sometimes be a little clumsy. Although she has pointed ears, her skin is significantly pinker than most Vulcans. Personality Kestra usually behaves according to traditional Vulcan stereotypes, using clipped, precise speech and following logical trains of thought. However, she has been known to smile and get quite animated when talking about a subject she is passionate about, and when she is upset she sometimes shows visible signs of distress. Recently, Kestra has embraced her Betazoid heritage more fully, and has consciously pushed herself out of her comfort zone by attending more social functions and getting involved with organising on-board activities. Kestra works extremely hard, and often feels that she is under-appreciated. She recently successfully argued for more funding and better equipment for her department, after a security leak revealed that her resources were woefully inadequate. Kestra's main duties on-board the Enterprise include monitoring and sending communications, collecting data on the societal structures of any new civilizations the ship encounters, and acting as the Captain's aide when he undertakes diplomatic missions. Her wide knowledge of the customs of other species and ability to empathically pick up what others are thinking have prevented the Captain from putting his foot in it on several occasions. She is highly studious by nature, and loves nothing more than reading up on different planets and species in her spare time. She is an avid bibliophile and is the proud owner of a collection of books printed on real paper. Her neat, somewhat clinical quarters are slowly getting more cluttered and acquiring more character as she collects interesting souvenirs and knickknacks from her travels. Relationships Captain Satlek Kestra's relationship with the Captain is pretty close, albeit a little odd. As far as she is concerned, she views him as a successful, pure-blood Vulcan, which is something she has always aspired to be, but she also finds his interest in human culture and occasional lapses into displaying a personality deeply fascinating. On the surface, the two conduct themselves in a purely professional manner, although the Captain regularly calls her by her first name. It should be noted that Kestra seems to hold unusual powers of persuasion over the Captain, and the only time he has ever been seen to leave the ship on an away mission was when she was directly in danger. Mr Einstein Kestra works very closely with Mr Einstein, the ships's computer, in her day to day work, and he has even been known to come to her study after hours to help her with personal projects. Kestra firmly believes that Mr Einstein is sentient, and should therefore be treated as a person, and has staunchly argued this case to the crew on several occasions. Although previous attempts to mind meld with him have proved unsuccessful, Kestra is convinced that if she modifies the technique - possibly using her Betazoid empathic skills - that she will be able to make contact with him and prove he has a soul. Sakonna Sakonna was Kestra's arch-nemesis all the way through her early life, both in terms of academic rivalry and also being - in Kestra's eyes anyway - the ringleader of the gang that made her life a misery. Sakonna was completely unaware of all the pain she caused however, since she sincerely believed that she was merely pointing out logical facts. Secretly, she was even slightly jealous of Kestra's natural abilities in language, which was a subject she personally struggled with. Now that Sakonna has been appointed as the Enterprise's Chief Botanist on a permanent basis, the two have had to work together on several occasions, and have recently reached an uneasy truce. Yoshitoki Kuninobu Yoshitoki is Kestra's long-suffering PhD student, and the only other member of her department. He never seems to eat or sleep, but can be found in the Communications lab at any time of day or night, clutching a cup of coffee and swaying slightly. Although he never speaks, he dutifully does everything Kestra asks of him, wistfully looking over at her when he thinks no-one is watching. Category:Characters Category:Player Characters Category:Starfleet Personnel Category:Vulcans